COMMENTARIES
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TAPI Pipeline: Will 2013-14 be the Tipping Point?
D Suba Chandran · 06 Dec, 2013 · #4209 · Commentary
The idea of constructing a 1,700 km long Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-Indian pipeline, which was in limbo for more than ten years, suddenly seems to be picking up in the recent months. Where does this enthusiasm come from? Will the project ...
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Bangladesh Elections 2013
Can the President Resolve the Political Crisis?
Harun ur Rashid · 03 Dec, 2013 · #4208 · Commentary
BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia on 19 November 2013 met President Abdul Hamid and urged him to take steps towards a consensus between the ruling and the opposition parties for holding a free, fair and participatory election under a non-party governm...
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India-Pakistan: Talking to Both the Sharifs
D Suba Chandran · 03 Dec, 2013 · #4207 · Commentary
Now that Pakistan has a new Chief of Army Staff, Gen Raheel Sharif, replacing Gen Kayani, what should India do? Should we ignore him, and dialogue only with Nawaz Sharif, the elected Prime Minister? Or should we accept the real politics of Pakis...
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Peace Audit
Ten Years of Ceasefire along the LoC: Perspectives from Poonch
KD Maini · 03 Dec, 2013 · #4206 · Commentary
Peace process and ceasefire along the LoC means different things for the people living in different parts of J&K. For the people of Poonch, the ceasefire of 26 November 2003 brought peace to the area, gave security of life and property to peop...
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Japan’s Revised Defence Posture in 2013: An Assessment
Angana Guha Roy · 30 Nov, 2013 · #4205 · Commentary
The report recently published by Japan’s Defence Posture Review Commission projects an expected shift in Japan’s upcoming Defence Programme Guidelines, slated to be out by the end of this year. It points out the changing security env...
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India & Bangladesh: A Breakthrough in Water Relations?
Roomana Hukil · 30 Nov, 2013 · #4204 · Commentary
The forthcoming elections in Bangladesh and India raise uncertainty over the settlement of the land boundary, trade route and hydraulic issues between the two neighbours. Several strategic analysts have assessed the significance of signing the T...
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Thailand & Cambodia: End of Clashes over Preah Vihear?
Aparupa Bhattacherjee · 30 Nov, 2013 · #4203 · Commentary
On 11 November 2013, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) declared its verdict on Preah Vihear case, a Hindu temple on the Thailand-Cambodia border. Several clashes on the border have taken the lives of quite a few civilians and soldiers fro...
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IPCS Debate (Special Commentary)
India-Pakistan and Tactical Nuclear Weapons: A Step closer to the Abyss
Vice Admiral Vijay Shankar · 30 Nov, 2013 · #4202 · Commentary
The Futility of TNWs
In March 2013, a workshop was conducted under the aegis of the Naval Post Graduate School, Monterey. It sought to examine the escalation dynamics in a South Asian crisis under a nuclear overhang. A scrutiny of the scenario...
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Peace Audit
Ten Years of Ceasefire along the LoC: An Evaluation
PR Chari · 30 Nov, 2013 · #4201 · Commentary
Some history would be of relevance here.
The Line of Control (LoC) was envisioned by the Simla Agreement entered on 2 July 1972; it replaced the ceasefire line negotiated by the Karachi Agreement of 1 January 1949 and demar...
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Nepal Elections 2013
The Fall of Maoists
Sisir Devkota · 29 Nov, 2013 · #4200 · Commentary
The 2013 CA election in Nepal was a show of vibrant participation, inclusiveness and enthusiasm. Not only was there an increase in people’s representatives, there were also 68 more political parties running for the FPTP (first past the post)...
